Tilak Varma is still undefeated at 49 when India’s captain Hardik Pandya knocks the decisive six to seal the victory with seven wickets still remaining and 13 deliveries left to bowl!
Suryakumar Yadav put on a standout performance as India defeated West Indies by 7 wickets in the third T20I of the five-match series at Providence Stadium in Guyana, a game that was a must-win for India. With 13 balls left, India was able to surpass their goal of 160 runs thanks to the right-handed batter’s 83 runs off 44 pitches. West Indies managed to put on 159/5 despite having won the toss and chosen to bat first. This was largely due to captain Rovman Powell, who gave the West Indies team a strong finish.
As West Indies scored the greatest first innings total in the series so far, Powell stayed undefeated on 40 off 19 deliveries. Suyakumar, who entered at number 3 after newcomer Yashasvi Jaiswal left in the first over itself, had other plans, thus it did not turn out to be enough. The Mumbai Indians star was in excellent form and immediately launched an attack on the opposition, smacking a four and a six off his first two deliveries.
When Suryakumar left the pitch in the 13th over, India had amassed 121 runs and required 39 runs to win off 44 balls, or less than a ball, considering the required run rate at the outset was 8. Varma’s strike also merits special attention because the left-hander was content to be second fiddle but did take chances when he believed the ball to be in his area. With Varma still unbeaten at 49, he was about to reach his second half-century of the season in three games when Hardik Pandya put an end to it with a six.
Prior to that, Kuldeep Yadav, who took Ravi Bishnoi’s spot in the playing 11 for the game, emerged as the team’s top wicket-taker, finishing with a total of 3 for 28. The other wicket-taker for the side was Axar Patel, who finished with statistics of 1 for 24 from his 4 overs. Mukesh Kumar bowled 2 overs towards the end and gave away 18 runs for his 1 wicket. For the West Indies, Obed McCoy dismissed Jaiswal (1) in the first over itself, while Alzarri Joseph dismissed Shubman Gill (6) during the powerplay before coming back to take Suryakumar’s wicket.
